Focal dermal hypoplasia is a multisystem disorder characterized primarily by involvement of the skin, skeletal system, eyes, and face. Skin manifestations present at birth include atrophic and hypoplastic areas of skin; cutis aplasia; fat nodules in the dermis manifesting as soft, yellow-pink cutaneous nodules; and pigmentary changes. Verrucoid papillomas of the skin and mucous membranes may appear later. The nails can be ridged, dysplastic, or hypoplastic; hair can be sparse or absent. Limb malformations include oligo-/syndactyly and split hand/foot. Developmental abnormalities of the eye can include anophthalmia/microphthalmia, iris and chorioretinal coloboma, and lacrimal duct abnormalities. Craniofacial findings can include facial asymmetry, notched alae nasi, cleft lip and palate, and pointed chin. Occasional findings include dental anomalies, abdominal wall defects, diaphragmatic hernia, and renal anomalies. Psychomotor development is usually normal; some individuals have cognitive impairment.

Craniofrontonasal syndrome is an X-linked developmental disorder that shows paradoxically greater severity in heterozygous females than in hemizygous males. Females have frontonasal dysplasia, craniofacial asymmetry, craniosynostosis, bifid nasal tip, grooved nails, wiry hair, and abnormalities of the thoracic skeleton, whereas males typically show only hypertelorism (Twigg et al., 2004; Wieland et al., 2004).

Typical Greig cephalopolysyndactyly syndrome (GCPS) is characterized by macrocephaly, widely spaced eyes associated with increased interpupillary distance, preaxial polydactyly with or without postaxial polydactyly, and cutaneous syndactyly. Developmental delay, intellectual disability, or seizures appear to be uncommon manifestations (~<10%) of GCPS and may be more common in individuals with large (>300-kb) deletions that encompass GLI3. Approximately 20% of individuals with GCPS have hypoplasia or agenesis of the corpus callosum.

Mesoaxial synostotic syndactyly with phalangeal reduction (MSSD) represents a distinctive combination of clinical features that includes mesoaxial osseous synostosis at a metacarpal level, reduction of one or more phalanges, hypoplasia of distal phalanges of preaxial and postaxial digits, clinodactyly of fifth fingers, and preaxial fusion of toes (Malik et al., 2014).

EEM syndrome denotes a disorder characterized by ectodermal dysplasia, ectrodactyly, and macular dystrophy. The ectodermal dysplasia consists of hypotrichosis affecting scalp hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes, with partial anodontia. Different degrees of absence deformities as well as syndactyly have been described, the hands often being more severely affected than the feet. The retinal lesion appears as a central geographic atrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium and choriocapillary layer of the macular area with coarse hyperpigmentations and sparing of the larger choroidal vessels (summary by Kjaer et al., 2005).

A distal limb malformation with manifestation of complete or partial webbing between the third and fourth fingers and/or the second and third toes. Other digits may be involved occasionally. The phenotype varies widely within and between families, sometimes only the hands are affected and sometimes only the feet. Webbing between fingers may be associated with bony fusion of the distal phalanges. Inherited as an autosomal dominant trait.

Although both preaxial polydactyly and syndactyly are cardinal features of this malformation, it is classified as a form of polydactyly because syndactyly does not occur in the absence of polydactyly (McClintic, 1935), the opposite not being true. On the other hand, polysyndactyly is here classified as a type of syndactyly because polydactyly (of the third or fourth fingers and fifth toes) does not occur in the absence of syndactyly. The thumb shows only the mildest degree of duplication, and syndactyly of various degrees affects fingers 3 and 4. The foot malformation is more constant and consists of duplication of part or all of the first or second toes and syndactyly affects all of the toes, especially the second and third.

Classic Joubert syndrome (JS) is characterized by three primary findings: A distinctive cerebellar and brain stem malformation called the molar tooth sign (MTS). Hypotonia. Developmental delays. Often these findings are accompanied by episodic tachypnea or apnea and/or atypical eye movements. In general, the breathing abnormalities improve with age, truncal ataxia develops over time, and acquisition of gross motor milestones is delayed. Cognitive abilities are variable, ranging from severe intellectual disability to normal. Additional findings can include retinal dystrophy, renal disease, ocular colobomas, occipital encephalocele, hepatic fibrosis, polydactyly, oral hamartomas, and endocrine abnormalities. Both intra- and interfamilial variation are seen.

Colobomatous microphthalmia-rhizomelic dysplasia syndrome is a rare, genetic developmental defect during embryogenesis characterized by a range of developmental eye anomalies (including anophthalmia, microphthalmia, colobomas, microcornea, corectopia, cataract) and symmetric limb rhizomelia with short stature and contractures of large joints. Intellectual disability with autistic features, macrocephaly, dysmorphic features, urogenital anomalies (hypospadia, cryptorchidism), cutaneous syndactyly and precocious puberty may also be present.

Townes-Brocks syndrome (TBS) is characterized by the triad of imperforate anus (84%), dysplastic ears (87%; overfolded superior helices and preauricular tags; frequently associated with sensorineural and/or conductive hearing impairment [65%]), and thumb malformations (89%; triphalangeal thumbs, duplication of the thumb [preaxial polydactyly], and rarely hypoplasia of the thumbs). Renal impairment (42%), including end-stage renal disease (ESRD), may occur with or without structural abnormalities (mild malrotation, ectopia, horseshoe kidney, renal hypoplasia, polycystic kidneys, vesicoutereral reflux). Congenital heart disease occurs in 25%. Foot malformations (52%; flat feet, overlapping toes) and genitourinary malformations (36%) are common. Intellectual disability occurs in approximately 10% of individuals. Rare features include iris coloboma, Duane anomaly, Arnold-Chiari malformation type 1, and growth retardation.

Limb-only ENDOVE syndrome (ENDOVESL) is characterized by marked mesomelic shortening and deformation of the lower limbs due to severe hypoplasia of the tibia and fibula. Patients also exhibit abnormalities of the digits of the hands and feet, with cutaneous and osseous syndactyly as well as dysplastic, missing, and/or volar nails. In addition, genitourinary anomalies have been observed (Allou et al., 2021).

Synpolydactyly (SPD), or syndactyly type II, is defined as a connection between the middle and ring fingers and fourth and fifth toes, variably associated with postaxial polydactyly in the same digits. Minor local anomalies and various metacarpal or metatarsal abnormalities may be present (summary by Merlob and Grunebaum, 1986). In some families with SPD, the foot anomalies are characterized by preaxial as well as postaxial polydactyly, and appear to be fully penetrant. The more severe features of classic SPD, involving 3/4 synpolydactyly in the hands and 4/5 synpolydactyly in the feet, also occur, but at reduced penetrance. This foot phenotype is not seen in patients with classic SPD due to HOXD13 polyalanine tract expansions (Goodman et al., 1998). Malik (2012) reviewed the syndactylies, noting that the extreme phenotypic heterogeneity observed in SPD families consists of approximately 18 clinical variants that can be 'lumped' into 3 categories: typical SPD features, minor variants, and unusual phenotypes. Genetic Heterogeneity of Synpolydactyly See also SPD2 (608180), caused by mutation in the fibulin-1 gene (FBLN1; 135820) on chromosome 22q13, and SPD3 (610234), which has been mapped to chromosome 14q11.2-q12.

Craniotubular dysplasia, Ikegawa type (CTDI) is characterized by childhood-onset short stature in association with macrocephaly, dolichocephaly, or prominent forehead. Radiography shows hyperostosis of the calvaria and skull base, with metadiaphyseal undermodeling of the long tubular bones and mild shortening and diaphyseal broadening of the short tubular bones. Affected individuals experience progressive vision loss in the first decade of life due to optic nerve compression, and deafness may develop in the second decade of life (Guo et al., 2021).